This study will present an interpretive analysis of three early songs of Ivor Gurney (1890-1937) scored for solo voice and piano. The purpose is to examine a cross-section of Gurney’s early vocal output in order to evaluate the range of his early compositions, discern the progression of his style between 1911 and 1917, and achieve a deeper understanding of what he intended to communicate in composing these songs.

The method employed is the analysis of the music and the gathering other relevant facts (which can be gleaned from his correspondence, his poetry, and reviews by other musicians); then by interpreting them, to propose possible meanings of the music and desired effects on the listeners that Gurney may have intended.

Very little of the writing about his songs seems to have stimulated much in the way of performance or general acceptance in the music world. The songs of Gurney have been overlooked not from lack of musical worth, but from scholarly neglect. This discussion of several early songs will reveal the merits of Gurney’s music, unveil a deeper understanding of his intent, and hopefully prompt further study and more frequent performance and recording; and also pique curiosity about the some two hundred songs remaining in manuscript, stimulate discussion about their value, and encourage further publication of Gurney’s works.

The songs to be analyzed are Song of Ciabhan (poem by Ethna Carbery), composed in June 1911; Tears (Anonymous, attributed to John Fletcher), composed in 1914; and Severn Meadows (Ivor Gurney), composed in March 1917.

These Gurney songs will be compared through analysis with other contemporary compositions: I Praise the Tender Flower, Sleep, and In Flanders, with reference to settings of the texts by other composers, including Dowland, Parry, Finzi, Holst, Quilter, Bush, Seiber, and others.

To view David Kenneth Smith’s Curriculum Vitae.
 

How to obtain a copy of Smith’s dissertation:

To purchase this dissertation online, click here.  Otherwise, note the DA... number (UMI # DA9936696), and contact Bell and Howell Information and Learning (UMI, University Microfilms Inc.) at 1-800-521-0600, or search their database online, order via email, or write them at 300 North Zeeb Road P. O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346.  Or you may ask your
local library to borrow a copy via InterLibrary Loan.

Smith, David Kenneth. “An Interpretive Analysis of Three Early Songs of Ivor Gurney (1890-1937): Song of Ciabhan, Tears, and Severn Meadows.” 2nd ed. with Expanded Appendixes. D.M. diss., Indiana University, [June] 1999. [325pp. UMI # DA9936696. Two copies of the 1st ed. are available from Indiana University Libraries, call number MZ4 .S643.]

For more information, please contact David Kenneth Smith at: Ivor@Gurney.net.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES

I. INTRODUCTION

Scope

Sources

Review of the Literature

Justification

II. INTERPRETIVE ANALYSIS

Types of Interpretive Analysis

A Model of the Process of Musical Expression through Composition

Can One Tell What the Composer Intended?

Does the Composer Know What He Intended?

How Can One Tell What the Composer Intended?

Goals of an Interpretive Analysis

The Evidence of Motivation

The Evidence of the Text and Score

The Evidence of Reception and Reflection

Evaluating the Scope of Evidence

III. SONG OF CIABHAN

Early Efforts at Composing Songs

Source of the Poem

Interpretations of the Poem

Celtic Mythology

Gurney’s Text

Structure and Harmonic Form

Melodies and Chromatic Lines

Postlude

The Minor-Minor Seventh and Word Painting

Comparison to I Praise the Tender Flower

IV. TEARS

Education

R.C.M. Years

Gurney’s Opinions

Revisions, First Performances, Publication and Sales

Dedication and Attribution

Tears and Sleep

The Poem:  Sources and Interpretation

Gurney’s Music:  The Tears Figure and Other Obsessions

Creative Sequence and Harmonic Structure

Interpretations and Character Development

Style Development

Sleep and Tears

Dowland, Parry, Holst, Quilter, and Others

V. SEVERN MEADOWS

Harvey:  One Key to Gurney’s State of Mind

War Conditions as Contributors to State of Mind

Gurney’s Reactions to War

Mental Condition:  Horror or Boredom?

Homesickness:  The Chief Motivator

Musical Considerations:  Place of Composition and Possible Effect

Use of Piano while Composing

Dedications and Opinions

Gurney’s Severn Meadows:  A Structural Analysis

The Gloucester Chord in Severn Meadows

Gurney’s Melody and the Cuckoo

Special Effects:  Clusters, Rhythms, Accompaniment

The Influence of Severn Meadows on other Songs

An Admirer’s Response:  Finzi’s Setting of Only the Wanderer

In Flanders:  A Contemporary Song

VI. CONCLUSIONS

Motivation, Inspiration, and Influences

Compositional Technique

Poetry, Word Painting, Poetic Expression

The Tragic Epilogue

A Musical Evaluation

VII. APPENDIXES

A. SCORE FOR SONG OF CIABHAN

B. SETTINGS OF WEEP YOU NO MORE SAD FOUNTAINS

1. The Excerpts

2. Songs:  Chronological List

3. Songs:  Date Unknown List

4. Songs:  Unconfirmed List

5. Choral Settings:  Alphabetical List

C. SCORE FOR TEARS

D. SCORE FOR SLEEP

E. SCORE FOR SEVERN MEADOWS

F. DISCOGRAPHY APPENDIX

1. Janet Baker Recordings of Ivor Gurney Songs

2. First Instances of Gurney Songs Commercially Recorded

3. Published Gurney Songs Not Yet Commercially Recorded

VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY

XI. ANNOTATED DISCOGRAPHY

• p. 8  Should read: “Western Playland was first recorded by Trew in 1980.” Not 1989.
• p. 13 Footnote 22: should read “2:7” [Lecture 2, page 7.] Gerald Finzi, The Composer’s Use of Words: Three Lectures Delivered at the Royal College of Music, London, photostatic copy of manuscript (London: Royal College of Music, 1955), 2:7. [Corrected in 2nd Ed.]
• p. 27 Table 1: “Study, inspiration, commitment” line should have font reduced so as to stay on one line.
• p. 198 footnote 99: take out space after “November 8”
• p. 201 remove quotes on “men shall learn by chance fragments” indent
• p. 202 take out Italics in title of “Hark, Hark, the Lark”
• p. 214 take out end quote from top indention.
• p. 311 “Reviews.” In Musical Opinion 24[?] (April 1954): 134-35. This is confirmed as a false citation.  The item does not exist.
• p.313 Simpson entry add [Adrienne Marie]
• p.314 add “and George Walter”
• p.319 Gurney: Ludlow and Teme: A Song-Cycle entry: add “, H.21” at the end.
• p.325 When I was One and Twenty entry: add “, H.29” at the end.

• p. 94, line 9 should be spelled “photograph”
• p. 96, line 20 include period: “ows’.”
• p. 97, line 3 should be spelled “that”
• p. 98, line 18  should be spelled “reconnoitering”
• p. 105, endnote 54, line 4 should be spelled “Another” and “subject”
• p. 105, endnote 59 should be spelled “Gurney’s” (not “Gumey’s” !)
• p. 105, endnote 63, line 3 should be spelled “...on the front”

Smith’s “An Interpretive Analysis of Three Early Songs of Ivor Gurney” is available in two editions.  Two copies of the First Edition (315 pages) are available to be borrowed from Indiana University Libraries, call number M Z 4 .S 643.  The Second Edition (325 pages), with its corrections and Expanded Appendixes, is available for purchase from University Microfilms Inc. (DA9936696).  To purchase online, go to instructions.

For more information, please contact David Kenneth Smith at: Ivor@Gurney.net.

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